A New Hope Reborn
by 00augustina00
Summary: No one is beyond redemption. This is the story of one Sith's redemption. This takes place 4,000 years before Episode One: Phantom Menace.
1. Prologue: Pure Pazaak!

Series: Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic: Episode One  
Title: A New Hope Reborn Chapter: 0  
Summary: Redemption is never impossible.  
Disclaimer: I do not own anything of Star Wars, it solely belongs to brilliant mind of George Lucas.  
A/N: Beta-ed by Auros Sopherai & Onasilvslv.

The Dark Lord stoodin a menacing pose holding a lightsaber in her hand. She seemed so thickly surrounded by the Dark Side there was no possible way light could penetrate it. Darth Revan was fully armored in a red and black suit, so that you couldn't tell if Darth Revan was male or female. At her feet lay a fallen Jedi, slain by her own hand.

One of the Jedi spoke forcefully, "You will not win Revan." Before the Sith could remark on anything there was an explosion from behind her, caused by her own apprentice. She was thrown several feet as were the Jedi.

However, the force of it had torn up part of the back of Revan's cloak and armor, which had been protecting her more or less. However, it was seeming not enough as only ragged breathing could be heard from under her mask.

It was a female Jedi who first rushed towards the fallen Sith Lord. She kneeled at her side, momentarily weighing her options. Then she quickly undid the straps from the Sith's face, revealing a young woman who was deathly pale and several marks which were the work of the Dark Side. The female Jedi worked quickly, trying to preserve what was left of Revan's life.

Two of the surviving Jedi ran away from the sight, down the corridors where they met three Jedi Masters. No words were exchanged. The Masters and Knights led the way to where bastila was trying desperately to save the Sith's life. Quickly several medics followed the way with supplies, to help keep teh nearly dead Sith alive.

The Jedi Masters, consisting of Masters Vrook, Vandar, and Kavar gazed at the sight before them. Master Vrook was a middle aged man, with an almost bald head and a disdainful expression written all over his face. LIke both his counterparts, he wore Jedi Master Robes. Master Vandar was a short man of an unknown race of a slight muddy brown-green pigmentation. While Master Kavar was the youngest of the Jedi Masters with golden hair and crystal clear blue eyes. The Medics rushed ahead of them and went to work healing Revan. Quickly, they began putting her on a form of a stretcher as Master Kavar pulled Bastila away from the fallen Sith.

The three Masters watched as Revan was taken away. Master Vrook approached one of the Jedi that lay on the ground and placed his hand on him, while shaking his own head.

"What will happen now?" The Padawan asked.

"Revan's memory will be wiped and she will be given a new idenity," Master Vandar said. "For her safety and the rest of the galaxy's, eventually she will become a Jedi once again... She may be the last hope we have."

In truth, Revan's mind was damaged. A part of her was lost, something that could be easily worked with when it came to the Council or so they thought.

Over A Year Later...

Inside what would pass for a Cantina inside the ship of the Endar Spire, it was a busy place full of soldiers, but not one single Jedi. It seemed the one place that the Jedi would not come. The room smelt of cigarres and various alcohols, just like any other place and music could be heard from Biths on the far right side of the room. However, they were merely holos.

In the midst of the loudness of the place that was brightly lit with Republic colors, there were three very odd fit women talking... A mechanic, an ensign soldier, and a smuggler. Those three women were laughing at the conversation together comfortable in their table. Amongst the three of them was a short blonde woman with blue eyes, her hair styled in a crop cut and dressed in Republic soldier's uniform. Then there was a red-head with green eyes, she had her long, kinky red hair styled in a bun. Lastly, there was a raven haired woman with dark brown eyes, who looked out of place. The woman was Raven Sommersby, who had her hair in two braids on both sides of her face.

"Oh come on, you really didn't actually do that?" the red headed woman, Gaia, asked.

"I sure did," the blonde woman Terre spoke. "I may of lost my clothes in a Pazaak game, but I got a lot of money out of it..."

Raven smirked, finishing off her ale. "Man, that stuff is weak," she muttered.

Gaia and Terre looked at their friend with wide eyes. "That was your fifth glass of Tarisian ale, wasn't it?"

"Seventh," Raven told them.

"Damn Ray, you drink harder than any soldier I've ever met," Terre marveled.

No guy could ever take advantage of that," Gaia remarked.

"Pretty much," Raven said. "Up for a Pazaak game?"

"Actually no, early shift tomorrow," Terre informed Raven. "And I've got a semi-date..."

"How about you, Gaia?" Raven asked.

"Nah, Pazaak isn't my kinda fun," Gaia said sneakily. "I'll probably get some sleep and go pester the hell out of Theigul."

Gaia and Terre left Raven after they paid for their drinks and departed from the area leaving Raven to her own devices.

Raven was left shuffling her cards, her hands were nimble, soft, and hardly calloused. She hadn't really notice a man sit opposite of her until moments later. Naturally, she asked, "Republic rules?"

The man had noticed that the woman hadn't once looked up, and said, "It would be a little inappropriate to go with Nar Shadaa rules here."

Raven raised an eyebrow and looked at the man. He was ruggedly handsome. She had seen him before, although she'd never spoken to him. "Possibly," She told the man, in the orange jacket, sitting across the table.

Raven dealt out the shortest Pazaak game she'd ever played in. Raven easily won the first three hands. As the woman stood up the soldier was about to ante up the credits. She put her hand on his for a moment and then moved it away. She informed him, "You can pay up later, next time buy me a drink, handsome."

The man in the orange jacket raised an eyebrow and smirked as he watched her . He had to admit even to himself despite his caution to others, that she was extremely gorgeous.

Raven paid for her drinks from earlier and exited the room.

'Wow,' She thought to herself as she went to her room. She dressed down to the bare essentials and tossed her clothes and everything else in her footlocker and crashed in her bed. Quickly, sleep enveloped her taking her to a place that always felt safe...


	2. Chapter I: Spiced Up Soldiers

Series: Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic: Episode One  
Title: A New Hope Reborn  
Chapter: 1  
Summary: Redemption is never impossible.  
Disclaimer: I do not own anything of Star Wars, it solely belongs to brilliant mind of George Lucas.  
A/N: Beta-ed by Auros Sopherai & Onasilvslv.

_**A long time ago in a galaxy far away... **_

**STAR WARS **

**Four thousand years before the rise of the galactic Empire, the Republic verges on collapse. DARTH MALAK, last surviving apprentice of the Dark Lord Revan, has unleashed an invincible Sith armada upon an unsuspecting galaxy. **

**Crushing all resistance, Malak's war of conquest has left the Jedi Order scattered and vulnerable as countless Knights fall in battle, and many more swear allegiance to the new Sith Master. **

**In the skies above the Outer Rim world of Taris, a Jedi battle fleet engages the forces of Darth Malak in a desperate effort to halt the Sith's galactic domination... **

Outside Raven Sommersby's bunkroom a battle raged on, within and outside of the ship known as the _Endar Spire_. In the Starboard Section, Bastila Shan, a Jedi known for her battle against Darth Revan sought out an ensign, the only one she knew would be able to get to Raven fast enough. "Ensign," she called to a man with blonde hair.

The ensign was Trask Ulgo, and he turned to see a young woman who couldn't have been older than eighteen or nineteen. "Yes ma'am," he said saluting her.

"I need you to get Sommersby off this ship immediately," Bastila informed him and then turned and hurried away. 'It wasn't supposed to happen this way... I may not be able to speak to her right now, but I must ensure she arrives at Dantooine before Malak discovers she's alive...'

However before Trask could say anything Bastila was already hurrying down the halls towards the direction of the escape pods, in the Starboard Section. He made his way towards his bunkroom where he knew he'd find Sommersby, the smuggler.

The ship shook while the battle raged on between the _Endar Spire _and the Sith Battle fleet. It shook so much that Raven was woken and thrown from her bed. She quickly stood up. Her long dark hair cascaded over her shoulders and back, crimpled still from the two braids which it had been in earlier.

"What the hell is going on?" She mumbled as she approached her footlocker and donned her clothes, which consisted of a white long-sleeve shirt, a brown jacket, black pants, and brown boots. It was then that the door slid open.

Trask Ulgo immediately told her, "We're being ambushed by a Sith battle fleet! The Endar Spire is under attack! Hurry up - we don't have much time!"

Raven figured to ask a ridiculous question, "Who are you?"

"I'm Trask Ulgo," he informed her, "Ensign with the Republic fleet. I'm your bunkmate here on the Endar Spire. We work opposite shifts; I guess that's why you haven't seen me before. Now hurry up, we have to find Bastila! We have to make sure she gets off the ship alive!"

Raven was already putting on the strapping for the holster for her blaster and took it out from the footlocker and strapped it to her hip. "Who's Bastila?" she asked, having thought it sounded like the name of a spoiled brat. There was something in the name that brought up distasteful subconscious feelings. There was something deep down that told her to be wary of Bastila.

"Bastila is the commanding officer on the Endar Spire. Well, not an officer really. But she's the one in charge of this mission," Trask again informed her. Then he went all soldier -boy. "One of our primary duties is to guarantee her survival in the event of an enemy attack! You swore an oath just like everyone else on this mission. Now it's time to make good on that oath!"

He began to make things clear he knew about her old line of work. "I know about your reputation, how you used to smuggle spice and blasters along the Corellian Run. I guess the Republic figured since they couldn't catch you, they might as well hire you. And I'll admit, the Republic is in desperate need of someone with your kind of skills. Desperate enough to overlook your shady past. But now that you've signed on for this mission you're part of the Republic fleet. And Bastila needs all her troops at her side during this attack!"

"Yes, yes I get this," Raven said approaching the door. She noticed the look of disgust on his face. It was a look Raven was used to, especially when people found out her previous line of work. The young woman stopped where she was when Trask began to talk.

"This room is under lockdown, you won't be able to splice you way through that door but I have the key," He informed her, and went to the door and opened it. Both Ensign Ulgo and Raven Sommersby stepped out of the door only for the communicator to flash on.

**This is Carth Onasi - the Sith are threatening to overrun our position! We can't hold out long against their firepower! All hands to the bridge! **It immediately switched off.

Trask turned to Raven and said, "That was Carth contacting us on our portable communicators. He's one of the Republic's best pilots! He's seen more combat than the rest of the Endar Spire's crew put together. If he says things are bad, you better believe it. We have to get to the bridge to help defend Bastila." She went towards the door down the hall and spliced it open.

Raven smirked as she unlocked the door in front of her and said, "Then let's get to it." Before either of them could react they saw two Sith fighting a single Republican soldier. It was quick and the Sith soldiers won.

"These Sith must be the advance boarding party! For the Republic!" Trask cried out as he began to shoot.

One of Raven's eyebrows went up. "He's energetic," she muttered. She ran right at the Sith soldiers while pulling out her short sword and attacked the Sith, who hadn't been prepared for her onslaught. One of Sith shot at Raven, instead of Trask, hitting her arm and then he---or was it a she?---got shot in the head by Trask.

"Are you alright?" Trask immediately asked, worry on his face.

"Yeah, it just grazed me; come on, we have to get to the bridge, right?" Raven said, grabbing spare credits she spotted. She didn't have to see Trask's face to feel his disapproval. But Raven had never needed anyone's approval before and didn't need it now. "I'm a smuggler not a saint," She remarked as they came across two fights and this time Raven didn't get harmed in any way. She was doing better than the Sith, at least. As they came to a new door they could hear lightsabers and when Raven opened the door she saw two people fighting.

'Always stating the obvious, that one,' Raven thought, and did her best not to say anything. Her eyes seemed transfixed on the battle between the Jedi and the Sith. There was something there, something so familiar about it. A momentarily flash came between a brunette with pigtails and some person in black and red clothes, fighting. However, Trask's talking interrupted said vision.

"This fight is too much for us -- we better stay back. All we do is get in the way." Trask continued to ramble on.

Explosions resounded around the Jedi and Sith, and between them, and Raven and Trask. The Jedi, who's skill who was slightly higher than the Sith's slew her enemy only to be killed by an explosion from behind her.

Raven appeared on the outside unaffected, but inside, the fighting was taking its toll... Something inside her chipped and a lone tear on the right side of her face fell.

Trask said, "That was one of the Jedi accompanying Bastila. Damn we could have used her help!"

"Well too late now," Raven told him nicking more things from the Sith and leading Trask to the bridge as though she knew the ship's ins and outs. She didn't bother to wipe the tear away, as her face was becoming sweaty and it could easily be passed off.

When they arrived at the bridge, they found it overrun with Sith. Out of pure instinct she grabbed out a grenade and threw it in, decimating her enemy just as two came at her. One of them quickly was taken out by Trask and she impaled the other. The grenade hit its target, the Sith near the controls.

"Are you insane?" Trask demanded.

"Don't know yet... possibly," Raven said having picked up a prototype Vibroblade, and placed the short sword she had been using on her hip in a nice latch, as she lead the way.

Trask shook his head saying, "The Sith want Bastila alive, but once she's off the ship there's no stopping them from blasting the Endar Spire to galactic dust."

They both arrived at a door and quickly Trask moved in front of her. "Something is behind here," Trask said. "Damn - another dark Jedi! I'll try to hold him off, you get to the Escape pods! Go!" The door quickly closed in front of Raven.

Raven ran to the door and screamed, "No wait!" She knew that deep down, he was already dead and she made a run for the Starboard Section. Raven had no way of knowing if that Sith was right behind her or not. 'I only hope Gaia and Terre made it to the escape pods,' She thought, having not seen their bodies amongst the dead.

Meanwhile Carth had been watching the lights flicker off, it had been gradual but saw one strong light move throughout the ship... He read whose it belonged to: Raven Sommersby. "Well I'll be..." He said with a smirk. "I still owe her a drink," He mumbled to himself.

Bastila's pod had just launched away. He was happy that Bastila was out of harms way. However, he was saddened by the loss of Trask, but Carth was relieved there was still one person left. But if she flickered off the screen, then Carth would have no choice but to go alone. After all, there were Sith in the very next room. He had injected his datapad to get the complete service record of the young woman. The only thing he knew about her was that she was a killer Pazaak player and quite flirtatious.

Raven now found herself at the beginning of a large hall when her communication came back on.

**This is Carth Onasi on your personal communicator. I'm tracking your position through the Endar Spire's life support systems. Bastila's escape pod is away - you're the last surviving crew member of the Endar Spire ! I can't wait for you much longer; you have to get to the escape pods!**

It was then that the comm went off once again. Raven saw the sadly distracted Sith up the hall and couldn't help it. She pulled out another grenade. "I do think I'm rather trigger happy," Raven declared. The grenade blew up on contact with the Sith, he or she was DOA. Raven found herself following the hall which led to a room and opened the door. Immediately, she was fired upon. She was out of grenades now.

Quickly, she ran and flipped over one Sith's head and stabbed the Sith in the chest and ran at the other. It was done in two thrusts, right at the vital organs. The communication came on again. Raven's eyes were on the droid not far from her at the moment and walked to it.

**Be careful! There's a whole squad of Sith troopers on the other side of the door! You need to find something to thin their numbers.**

"I got it, can you say cannon fodder?" She inquired shutting the comm off. Raven shook her head as she fixed the droid and got in a corner after she sent it on its way. Gun shots were fired everywhere in the next room, quickly the droid finished them off as Raven began her plundering. She had gathered up seven grenades and one hundred credits by the time she'd opened the door.

Carth had the most peculiar look on his face. 'Cannon fodder, huh?' He thought to himself. The look went away and when the door slid open he said, "You made it in time! There's only one active escape pod left. Come on, we can hide out on the planet below!"

'What is the Republic all on… a kind of spice I've never heard of?' She thought to herself as she headed into the pod. "You don't have to tell me twice," Raven said with a smirk and noticed something, there were no straps. 'Damn,' she thought as Carth got in and the pod closed up. This was going to be a seriously bumpy ride. 'After this is over... He still owes me a drink. '


	3. Chapter II: I'm Carth

Series: Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic: Episode One

Title: A New Hope Reborn

Chapter: 2/?

Summary: Redemption is never impossible.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything of Star Wars; it solely belongs to brilliant mind of George Lucas.

* * *

He had been watching her for three days, checking on her progress but uncertain if he could trust anyone on this planet with his and the woman's safety. Carth Onasi watched as the woman thrashed around in her sleep, he had managed to get her out of the Escape Pod and into this Apartment. He had seen that it hadn't been lived in for a while. It was that reason which meant it was abandoned, and they wouldn't have to worry about anyone coming home to it.

Carth had managed to get the apartment cleaned up, if there was something the Republic soldier was, it was that he was meticulous, that and paranoid. He collapsed onto his bed from sheer exhaustion. Carth had managed to get a good deal of information with appearing to be anything but a Republic soldier. However, he got the feeling that his questions were unwelcome.

The orange clad soldier pulled out the datapad he had gotten every last bit of information pertaining to Sommersby, Raven. The datapad flashed on showing a picture of the woman who had a smirk on her face. It looked like she just won the jackpot of Pazaak. Next to the picture was all the basic information.

**Name: Sommersby, Raven  
****Home world: CLASSIFIED  
****Age: 29  
****Sex: Female  
****Occupation: CLASSIFIED**

Carth was shocked, what about this woman made her classified. He didn't like it, being out of the loop. The sleeping woman before had the highest level classification, he doubted even Admiral Dodonna had clearance to know about the woman that had managed to survived. It was odd that a last addition to the crew roster managed to survive the battle on the Endar Spire. He would question her about it when she woke up, if she woke up. He returned to reading the information her.

**Skills: Speaks over twenty languages which include Galactic Basic, Binary, Bocce, Cheunh, Dosh, Durese, Hapan, Huttese, Mando'a, Olys Corellisi, Shriiwook, Rodese**

The list went on and on and there were several things about her that didn't make sense. Where could she have learned all of these languages? The mystery come on piling it on, well if the datapad wouldn't tell him anything about her, and then he would have to wait it out. He read over her other skills which included Droid Maintenance & Repair. Those were handy skills to have, he admitted to himself. He read down the list of her other skills which included various combat forms. This woman wasn't a soldier; he could feel it in his gut. Though he could feel she was no stranger to war.

It was then Carth heard movement and instinctively reached for his blaster and look forward, it was Sommersby. She was thrashing about in her sleep; he relaxed a bit and sat up. He had watched the woman, she was almost completely healed, and there weren't even any bruises on the woman anymore.

Raven had no sense of time of where her mind was, it was a series of half clouded dreams where she had no idea what was occurring. Only that she was in a continuing battle, such was the fractured mind of hers. In her mind she could see the replay of a dream she had had before, of a battle with what it looked like Jedi Knights, she seriously doubted they were Masters. There were words shared and then an explosion, then it all going dark.

'Sweet mother of chaos,' she thought as she bolted up. Raven was groggy and didn't at first see the man in front of her in a similar sitting position.

"Good to see you up, instead of thrashing around in your sleep. You must have been having one hell of a nightmare. I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to wake up." Carth told Raven, obvious concern written his face.

"How long was I out?" Raven asked him, her vision clearly not all the way there, but almost.

"Three days," Carth said blatantly. "During that time, you've been slipping in and out of consciousness during that time. So I imagine you're pretty confused about things. Try not to worry. We're safe... at least for the moment. I'm Carth, one of the Republic soldiers from the Endar Spire. I was with you on the escape pod, do you remember?"

"Carth, the one on the communicator. I remember." Raven said her eyes became clear as she noticed the color of the jacket and could feel two feelings sweep over her. They were more like presences. The first one was malevolent, and the second was all things one might associate with light. These two presences had been with her for months and she didn't quite understand it at all. "So where are we exactly?"

"We're in an abandoned apartment on the planet of Taris. You were banged up pretty bad when our escape pod crashed, but luckily I wasn't seriously hurt." Carth explained.

'Lucky you,' Raven thought to herself. She took a sniff her clothes and almost gagged. She needed a shower and some different clothes all together. She could feel the two different presences circle in a dance around her. Raven had never had the gift to block her mind with such strong emotions, of chaos and pure serenity.

"I was able to drag you away from our crash site in all the confusion, and I stumbled onto this abandoned apartment. By the time the Sith arrived on scene we were long gone." Carth explained standing up more like a soldier in a briefing room.

"Before you go all out on me soldier, I could use a shower, I smell like a rotting Rancor monster," Raven told him with a slight smile.

Carth blinked for a moment and tried not to appear completely uncomfortable. "Sorry, of course," He said to the woman as he sat back down on the bed.

"Where are all the things I had with me?" Raven inquired. "My clothes, weapons and such?"

"Everything is in the strongbox," Carth told her being careful to watch her every move. There were questions he knew he had to ask but he was still tired, having little sleep did that to a man. 'While she's in the Refresher I can get a nap in.'

Raven nodded as she jumped off the bed and went to the strongbox and found her regular clothes that would have identified her as a scout. She took them in hand and went into the refresher, putting them in place so they wouldn't get wet. She stripped down from the combat suit that was pretty much would have to be destroyed now, it wasn't going to be able to saved.

She closed the door behind as she stripped down and slipped into the refresher. Raven scrubbed the grime, debris, and blood out of her hair and off her skin. She wasn't sure how long she was in there but her skin had taken prune-like appearance. Raven took a towel from the cabinet and began to dry herself off. 'A good shower always helps out,' She thought to herself.

Outside the bathroom, Carth was sleeping the time away. He didn't even hear the door open as he slept in his bed. He was halfway awake, enveloped in dreams of his past before the bad times, before he became who he was now.

Raven stepped out in a long sleeve shirt, brown vest, brown trousers, and boots. She was braiding her hair into two long braids that framed her face. Her hair matched her name, Raven and her eyes were dark as night. One might think her parents named her for her very poetic appearance. "Onasi what should I..." She began and noticed his sleeping form on the other bed. "He must be worn out," She muttered under her breath. "I guess I'll go clean out the bathroom and try to get rid of the junk in there..." Raven made soundless steps as she went into the bathroom where the refresher was located and began her menial work.

She managed to clean everything up. Raven made a makeshift sack to put everything into it. She carried the bag to the door but didn't open the door. After all, there was no telling what fate awaited them out there. Not that it mattered before but something about now told her not to go yet. Raven could feel the darker presence hiss and snap and fill her with a sense of foreboding that she didn't want to enter. While the lighter presence was more comforting in its nature, it was if it was saying... _Wait._ So that's what she would do now, she would wait but Sith's Blood she didn't want to do it.

It was then she heard muttering coming from the man that she had remembered. He owed her a drink which made her smile. They might both need a drink. She saw as he was shaking and it left her worried. Raven approached the bed carefully and lightly shook the man on the bed. She heard him whisper a name that seemed more out of desperation than anything she had heard before. There was so many emotions in that that one word.

"Morgana."

Raven shook him harder and said, "Onasi, wake the frell up."

What she saw when he jolted awake was something she hadn't seen even amongst the mercenaries she had spent her life around. It was wild, untamed and filled with pain that she couldn't begin to even comprehend in this day and age. 'Relax,' She thought to herself.

"That must have been some dream fly boy, you're soaked it looks like," Raven told him trying to be the ideal prospect of calm. Whatever nightmare he had been having sent him into this state couldn't be a good thing.

Carth stared into the dark pools that were the woman's eyes that seemed to draw him in. He was still shaking, remembering the dream, of his wife, a mixture of many moments with her. The worst being... No he wouldn't think about it now, he didn't need to analyze it. "Some dream," He mumbled.

"You should go to the Refresher, get all cleaned up, I think I have a Combat armor you could change into after your shower, unless you enjoy soiling yourself in your own sweat." Raven remarked standing strait. She wasn't about to ask about who Morgana was, Raven didn't want to pry, yet. Yet being the operative word. The woman had a particular nosy nature, and so she pretty much demanded she find out all she could about anyone and everyone she was going to be around.

Carth simply nodded and grabbed what Raven had suggested, closing the bathroom door after he walked into it to use the refresher.

Raven worked quickly to change the sheets, pillows, and blankets. It didn't do them well if they slept in their own sweat and blood. It could very well prove to be hazardous. She took a good look around the room and took notice of a droid in the corner. A smile found its way on her lightly complexioned face. Raven quickly walked over to it and began to go through all the droids routines and repaired its basic subroutines and started to create new ones.

She watched as the droid went about its business and quickly began to working with the dirty sheets cleaning it and drying it and spitting it out and the cleaning the rest of the room. Raven hadn't been paying attention to the bathroom; she was focused on admiring her work.

"I thought the droid was scrap," Carth said, a lot more calm than he had been.

"You thought wrong, flyboy," She said with a wink. '"So care to continue the conversation before the refreshing we both had to do."

"What was the last thing we talked about?" Carth, his brain still not completely clear.

"I was ask about to ask you about the Sith," Raven told him.

"Alright, Taris is under Sith control. Their fleet is orbiting the planet, they've declared marital law, and they've imposed a planet-wide quarantine. But I've been in worst spots." He began.

'Taris? That cesspool of a planet?! I would rather be spaced than be here,' She thought morbidly to herself. Raven had heard about the planet and their stuck up aristocratic-like ways. This trip would be uncomfortable, and Raven knew she wouldn't like it one bit here.

"I saw on your records that you understand a remarkable number of alien languages. That's pretty rare in a raw recruit, but it should come in handy while we're stranded on a foreign world." Carth began. "There's no way the Republic will be able to get anyone through the Sith blockade to help us. If we're going to find Bastila and get off this planet, we can't rely on anybody but ourselves."

'Bastila, why does that name make me want to the put a bunch of holes in the bearer of such a name's body?' She thought to herself. There was something about the name that rubbed her the wrong way, at least when it came to the dark presence. "Bastila? She's the one from the Endar Spire, right?"

Carth looked at her momentarily before beginning. His expression almost pitying. "That smack to your head did more damage than I thought, Bastila's a Jedi. She was with the strike team that killed Darth Revan, Malak's Sith master."

'A Jedi? Probably more like a spoiled princess I bet,' Raven thought to herself. It was when he mentioned those names that seemed to speak to her on a deeper level. What she felt was, betrayal, and she didn't understand why. A voice scratch and malevolent seemed to whisper, _not dead, mere quieted._

"Bastila is key to the whole Republic war effort. The Sith must have found out she was the Endar Spire and set an ambush for us in the system. I believe Bastila was on one of the escape pods that crashed here down on Taris. For the sake of the Republic war effort, we have to try and find her." Carth said as if he was presenting a speech.

Raven didn't like the Jedi, she had never liked them. Deralia had been one of the first places attacked by the Mandalorians during the war. No one had come to the rescue when the world was almost completely wiped out. However, she didn't have hate for the Mandalorians nor the Republic. Raven had encountered quite a few Mandalorians in her travels and had developed an appreciation for their dieing culture. Raven didn't hate the Republic, their influence didn't reach Deralia and so there was no reason for them to try and protect that world. The Jedi had stayed out of all of it when they knew what was occurring, they chose to wait it out. That's why she didn't like them at all, they could have tried to protect the worlds, but they did not.

"How could one person, even a Jedi be so important?" She asked. There was something about Carth's tone that made her want to help him. That what he believed in was worth fighting for, dieing for, and a feeling she hadn't felt before now. At least, no purpose that could end in her death that wouldn't make her a very rich woman.

"Bastila is no ordinary Jedi. She has a rare gift called Battle Meditation. Bastila's power can influence entire armies. Through the Force Bastila can inspire her allies with confidence and make her enemies lose their will to fight. Often that's all it takes to tip the balance in battle." Carth continued on as if this was a well prepared speech.

"Let me guess, there are limits to this ability the Jedi can do?" Raven said interrupting. "With an ability that is labeled Battle Meditation, it's probably all focused on sitting on their laurels and meditating." It was obvious her tone held no love for Jedi but it was more like she was reading it from a droid manual than anything else.

Carth nodded though was wondering what made this woman dislike Jedi's. Though anyone's homeworld that had been touched by the Mandalorian Wars would have been angry with actions of the Jedi's inaction before Revan. "The attack on the Endar Spire happened so fast she never had a chance to use her Battle Meditation. Like us, she barely made it out alive."

"Alright," She said under her breath. "Is there anyone that will be targeting her?" 'Her royal highness.'

Carth nodded, carefully studying her. It was like the woman was at least a step or so ahead. Like she had already considered her choices before they started to discuss this. "Many of Darth Malak's followers can use the dark side of the Force, and the Sith have killed more than their share of Jedi in this war. No body will be looking for a couple common soldiers like us and if we're careful, we can move about the planet without attracting notice; a luxury Bastila won't have. She's going to have half the Sith fleet looking for her. They know how important she is to the war effort."

"Is there any easy way off this rock?" Raven asked, already tired of standing. Inactivity made her too restless.

"No, the whole planet is under quarantine. No ships can land or take-off. So if Bastila's going to escape Taris, she's going to need our help. And we'll probably need hers." Carth continued on.

"Any information this rock we're stranded on?" Raven inquired.

"It's all entered in your datapad," Carth told her, full prepared for that question. He handed her the datapad.

Raven immediately began to read about all of it and then looked up, staring strait into his eyes. There was that intensity again, that she had seen before. She put the datapad in one of her vest pockets. "Can I ask you something?" She inquired.

"I'll tell you whatever I can, though I... I don't know how much help it'll be." He replied, almost dreading the question or questions as he figured it to be.

"What can you know about Malak an the Sith?" Raven asked leaning against the table that was behind her.

"Everything I know about Malak is pretty much common knowledge. He escaped the Trap that killed Darth Revan, his Sith Master. With Revan's death, Malak became the new Dark Lord. It's obvious that Malak's a ruthless tyrant who'll crush anyone who stands in his way... just like Revan was. Experience has shown that the Sith won't stop until the Republic lies in ruins. Malak and his Sith don't respect anything except raw, brutal power. It's hard to imagine how someone who used to be a Jedi could become such a monster!"

The words he spoke affected her in several ways. The first of it was anger, from the dark presence, pity from the light presence, and many things in all. It almost felt as though she could feel Carth's emotions stemmed from a greater source. People had told her she was very perceptive.

"They were both Jedi?" Raven asked. "Wonder what changed them..." 'From the pacifist to murderers,' She thought to herself. Even Raven couldn't see herself as the type to murder innocent people aggressively like that. Though there were times when she had killed believing it would protect innocents.

"I think something must have happened out there on the outer rim. Something corrupted them and drew them over to the dark side. Or maybe there was something rotten inside them all along. I don't know. They formed an army of ex-Republic soldiers and Jedi who had fallen to the dark side, with Revan at their head... until Revan was killed by Bastila's Jedi strike team"

Raven didn't hear what Carth said. Not until the very end. 'So she killed Revan, wonder if she regrets it at all,' Raven thought to herself. "Don't worry. We'll find a way to stop the Sith."

"I hope you're right. But the Republic hasn't been able to stop them so far, even with the support of the Jedi Council. I think Bastila might be the galaxy's last hope." Carth admitted.

There was something in his voice that drew her in, that made her want to further his belief in their own fate. "I'd like to know more about you, Carth," She said and noticed the look in his eyes.

"I understand why you want to know more about me, I...I kinda get the feeling we'll be spending allot of time together over the next while." He said, slightly stuttering.

Raven Sommersby had knocked the great hero Commander Onasi off his feet. That was something she wanted to share with... Terre. Raven felt the sharp pains of guilt and sadness wash over her. She covered her mouth before she said anything. She willed herself not to cry, a part of her knew that all her friends were dead.

"But this really isn't the--," Carth began and noticed something in the dark haired woman's expression, something he had seen over the years, from the wars he fought. "Sommersby," He said in a tone that was about as familiar as it had gotten the night they had first met.

Raven looked up; her eyes were glassy from the unshed tears. She wasn't about to break down, share her feelings now. Raven wanted to hit something, gut something with a vibroblade and show it what she felt now. So in a tone that revealed nothing she turned from the commander, heading to the door. "The sooner we start looking for Bastila the sooner we find her."


End file.
